How Things Could Be
by GoingQuietly
Summary: "Woah Betty, it's me, Jughead!" He began backing up. "What are you doing?" Jughead from the comics mysteriously appears in the TV version of Riverdale, and he realizes what he's been missing. Bughead story! Non-ace Jughead. Please review! Let me know what you think!
1. Chapter 1

How Things Could Be

Jughead smiled to himself as he turned around the corner to the street Pop's was on. It was a good day in Riverdale; things were normal and he had a few bucks in his pocket for some burgers. It felt like people were listening to him today, which was a nice change. His parents finally took Jellybean out to the hiking camp she'd been begging to go on, which left him with the house to himself; and Reggie agreed to pay him back the ten dollars he 'forgot' about. Hell, earlier he'd even convinced Archie to take Betty on a date. Sure, it was only after Veronica had ditched him for Reggie, for the umpteenth time, but it still felt like a win. Although lately it seemed like just about every day the same things happened over and over. Nothing ever seemed to change, Veronica would always only care about who had the most money to take her out; Betty would always be chosen second; Reggie would always fight Archie for Veronica or steal kisses from Midge, which would always result in Moose beating him up, so on and so on. As he peered up the road at the small diner and the bubble-gum comic streets, Jughead couldn't help but wonder to himself:

"I wonder what it'd be like if something _real_ and lasting actually happened here."

Jughead pushed the doors open to Pop's and froze. Things were different. No. Everything was different. He spun around, taking everything in, The diner was darker, richer and more solid looking. His stomach felt awful suddenly and he rushed into the bathroom.

Jughead splashed his face with water for a moment before looking in the mirror. He nearly threw up. Not only was his face different, but he looked... really strange. Gone was the comic-looking reality he was used to. His nose was correctly proportioned to his face, his jawline was sharp and he looked... handsome. His hands flew to the crown-beanie on his head and he sighed in relief knowing that his comfort blanket came to this strange world with him.

He took another moment to take in this new version of himself. He had long fingers, thick black hair, striking blue eyes, and a lean and muscled figure. Jughead couldn't help the small smile at his lips as he thought, " _I wish the guys back home could see me now..."_

As he thought of everyone else, his stomach dropped again. Where were they? Were they here? Did they look different too?

Jughead took a breath and stepped out of the bathroom into the light of the diner again. "Hey, Pop." He sat down in his usual bar stool, at least some things were the same. "I think I'll just have a milkshake toni..." as Pop turned around, Jughead felt his voice die in his throat. Pop was... black? There was nothing wrong with it, just... somehow his race changed completely. How does that even happen? "...ght." Jughead forced himself to finish his word, swallowing any shock he may have experienced. "Actually, you know, I'm not feeling too well, I think I'll just head home and go to bed; maybe take the night off and relax or something"

Pop quirked an eyebrow and gave a knowing smile, "Say hello to Betty for me."

Jughead didn't respond to that. He didn't know how to. What did that even mean? Maybe he assumed he'd go to Archie's and Betty would be there or something? He had no idea... absolutely no idea.

After wandering up and down the streets for a bit, a thought occurred to him; his house wasn't there. It didn't exist. He was on the street that it should be on, but the street had a different name and all the houses looked different.

"I hope Archie lives in the same place." Jughead started heading towards Archie's last known residence. "Hell," he muttered to himself, "I hope Archie exists."

Sure enough, Archie's house was there. He may not have recognized it if it weren't for the boy himself, sitting on the front porch, guitar in hand. He looked different, and as much as Jughead would've liked to take credit for instantly recognizing him, it was the football jersey labeled "Andrews" that cinched it. Archie wasn't wearing the jersey, just holding it up in one hand, almost comparing it to the guitar.

Jughead figured he'd better just act normal for now, "Band practice? Isn't a bit early in the season, Arch?"

Archie looked up at him with an expression on his face that was a mix between confusion and an 'are you an idiot?' look. So much for the idea of acting normal.

"Hey Jug," Archie muttered setting his shirt down beside him and turning to look at the sheet music sitting on his leg. "You're home early."

"I am?" Jughead scratched his head; it was a Saturday, "From where?"

"Blue and Gold. You have a deadline on monday." Archie chuckled slightly, "Betty will kill you if you've forgotten. Better get your ass down to the school." When Jughead didn't move, Archie looked up at him, "Why aren't you there? I mean, the two of you are rarely apart for more than two minutes. Did something happen?"

Jughead shook his head, his mind spinning. Nothing here makes sense. Sure, he's helped Betty out with the school paper before, but this sounded different than that. "I'll uh, I'll go there now... I guess."

"You'd better hurry." Archie shook his head and began strumming the guitar.

Jughead arrived in front of the school. It looked fairly similar to the one he was used to, but like everything else in this place it was drained of colour and dark. This whole world felt dark and mysterious. It wasn't the Riverdale he was used to.

Before he could even make it to the top of the steps, Betty opened the front door, her arms crossed and foot tapping.

Jughead froze. He thought this had to be Betty. Who else would be impatiently waiting to work at school on a Saturday, but... holy shit. This version of Betty was similar and different all at once. She was stunning. Her hair was pulled into a pony tail, like always; her lips were a deep pink and her eyebrow was quirked in a disapproving manner; yet an amused smile played on her lips. It was a look he'd never seen her have before. She looked menacing and... and... sexy. It felt wrong for him to think it, but there it was.

"Well?" Betty pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Uh," He scrambled for the correct response, remembering Archie's words he quickly replied, "Sorry I'm late."

Her expression instantly softened into a smile, and she held the door open, beckoning him inside the empty school.

Although he knew where the Blue and Gold room was back in his school, he stayed a step behind Betty just in case. She opened the familiar door and Jughead stepped inside.

"So, what article are we working on?" He turned around in time to see her close the door behind them and turn the little lock. He swallowed hard. When Betty turned around, she looked somewhat confused and somewhat amused.

"We finished it yesterday." Betty smiled and pulled the elastic out of her hair, shaking the curls loose. Her eyes were locked on his, and a predatory look came over her face.

"What are you doing, Betts?" His voice was rougher than he meant it, nervous energy pouring out of him. She didn't answer, instead giving him a small innocent smile, as if he'd said something really embarrassing.

Jughead didn't move, he couldn't and he didn't really want to. Every inch of his body was equally telling him to run and to stay. He was frozen in place as she slowly made her way up to him; her hips swaying tantalizingly with her skirt with each step. As she came up to him, she stepped into his personal space and placed a hand against his chest. Her palm felt like fire.

Jughead couldn't breathe. This was wrong. It was all so wrong. He'd just set her up with his best friend, this morning! He shouldn't be looking at her like this. He and Betty had never...

Well there was that one time she kissed him in the hallway for no discernible reason... he'd never figured that one out; and there was that one date he took her on that was an amazing day for each of them; and the time he'd told her that if he were ever going to kiss someone it'd be her... but those were just... moments. Besides, the day after each of those, things went back to normal, as if they'd never happened. Jughead swallowed hard again, his eyes drifting down to her lips. If he'd ever willingly kiss a girl... ever initiate a kiss... he felt himself lean forward despite every ounce of him screaming how wrong it was.

The second their lips touched, Betty's arms wrapped around his neck and her lips pried his open. Jughead couldn't keep back the groan that escaped as her tongue rubbed against his. This wasn't like any of the kisses he'd ever seen her and Archie share. Not that he'd paid too much attention, but those were generally chaste kisses over the lips and cheeks, leaving big lipstick marks across him. This was very different. He could taste her.

Jughead slid his arms around her waist, and she eagerly pressed herself against him, her fingers pulling into his hair, knocking his beanie to the floor. He didn't notice as he slanted his lips against hers, tasting all of her mouth he could reach. She was better than anything he could have imagined.

The next thing he knew, her fingers were trailing down his back and pulling his S-shirt over his head. With the kiss broken, and him standing shirtless in front of Betty, his mind began to clear.

"Woah Betty, it's me, Jughead!" He began backing up. "What are you doing?" The back of his legs hit the couch and he fell into a seated position. Betty following him with each step and sitting to straddle him.

"I know it's you." She whispered in his ear, "I'd never be like this with anyone but you." Betty placed a kiss on his neck and gave his ear a tug with her teeth before pulling back slightly to look at him. "Are you alright?"

She looked beautiful. Her lips were red, her lipstick almost completely smeared off and her hair was loose, framing her face. She adjusted herself in his lap, pressing intimately against him. Jughead took a sharp breath and nodded.

"I'm, uh... yeah Betts. I just.." He sighed, "I just don't understand why you're here with me." At that she gave a sad smile.

"Because you're my boyfriend, Juggie. And I..." Her eyes teared up slightly, "I love you. I love you so much Jughead..."

She looked like she was going to cry, and despite the speed in which his brain was trying to comprehend any of what just happened, Jughead did the only thing he could think of to help the situation. He kissed her.

Betty moaned into the kiss, molding her body against his, grinding herself into his lap. Her lips were soft and her face was tear-stained, but Jughead couldn't think about anything other than how good she felt around him. His hands moved up her legs, beneath her skirt to rest on her thighs. He couldn't believe the reactions she was pulling from him. There was a tightness in his jeans, his heart was pounding in his ears and he felt like he was being touched by fire. She was incredible. Her hands flew down his naked chest, and straight to his belt.

Jughead groaned into her mouth, his hands slipping higher, cupping her thong-clad ass and grinding her into his erection. Everything about this felt so wrong and yet he couldn't make himself stop, he didn't want to stop... ever.

Betty's delicate fingers undid his belt, pulling it off and immediately going for his button and zipper. As he felt the pressure of the jeans diminish against his hard on, he broke the kiss, looking at Betty. Her face was flushed and she had a devilish grin on her lips. She kept eye contact with him as she reached beneath his boxers and took hold of his hard cock.

Jughead choked. This world was _so_ different from the place he'd been just hours ago. He never wanted to go back. This Betty had awakened something in him, a need for her, and he couldn't go back to a place where he'd never stand a chance.

Betty stood up for a moment, pulling Jughead back to the present. He moaned at the loss of her touch. She just smiled as she began slipping her panties off from underneath her skirt. His eyes were glued to the scene before him, cock twitching expectantly. She reached up and pulled her sweater off her back, followed by unlatching her bra and dropping it at her feet. The skirt quickly followed the rest of the discarded clothing. Jughead felt his breath hitch at the sight, Betty Cooper standing naked in front of him. She leaned forward and began pulling his pants and boxers down his thighs. Jughead helped her, pushing his pants down faster than he'd ever done anything before. As he did that, a thought crossed his mind.

"Betty." His voice was hardly more than a choked whisper. "We probably shouldn't... I mean, we can't..." The words wouldn't form on his tongue and he could hardly focus on anything beyond the fact that a naked Betty was crawling into his lap... his naked lap.

"You know I'm on the pill." Betty straddled him once more, rubbing herself along his hard length.

"That's not what I meant. I just..." Jughead bit back a moan, he wanted her so badly. Feeling her wetness trailing along him was almost too much, he wanted to be inside her. "Oh god, Betty." His head dropped backwards as she positioned herself above him, holding his dick to rub his tip against her clit. "We... we shouldn't do this." At this point he knew his plea was more than halfhearted. He wanted nothing more than to plunge up into her.

"What? Why?" She stilled above him. "It's not like we've never done this before..." Betty was too busy looking around the office to notice his jaw drop. "Is it the office? I locked the door. No one will come in."

Jughead couldn't argue anymore, his willpower had faded and become clouded with lust. They'd done this before... in whatever world this was, he was hers and she was his. They'd made love, he'd been inside her. It was too much for him to handle. "You're right." He nodded, "I need you Betts." She looked down at him and smiled, taking in his half-lidded lusting eyes and trembling hands.

He slowly reached up and cupped her breasts, they were so firm and tender. He rolled the nipples in his fingers, and she dropped her head back, still holding him in position beneath her. Finally she began to drop down onto him, enveloping him.

"Oh god." Jughead bit his cheek to keep from spilling into her right away. She was so tight and yet so wet he could feel it dripping down to the base of him. His hands continued to rub her nipples pulling delicate moans and sighs from her until she'd completely sheathed him. Before she could so much as bounce on him, Jughead reached around her back and flipped them, so that she was laying length-wise on the couch with him in between her legs.

He could barely control what he was doing. Jughead felt like he'd woken up. Perhaps, he thought, he was just as bad as Archie, always overlooking Betty. He had been the first one to tell Arch at every opportunity that Betty was the perfect woman and he shouldn't keep tossing her aside, but he'd never really thought beyond that. He'd never imagined going after Betty himself. Jughead pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind as he slipped out of her and back in.

"You're so wet for me." He whispered against her ear. Betty's arms and legs wrapped around Jughead, pulling him as deep into her as she possibly could. His body rubbed against her clit with every thrust of his hips.

"I'm always wet for you, Juggie." His name on her lips felt like honey.

As he plunged into her, his speed increasing with urgency, he couldn't hold back anymore.

"Oh Betts, god you're so beautiful." He pressed his lips against hers, slanting his mouth and tasting her tongue. "I've wanted you for so long." His voice was frantic between their kisses, almost drowned out by the vigorous slapping of their bodies meeting in a heated frenzy. "I may not have realized it, but I always wanted you, I've always needed you. Oh god, Betty. I'll always need you."

"Oh Juggie..." He voice was filled with lust and sounded like silk. "I love you so much."

"I love you Betty." He kissed her as hard as he could, feeling her walls begin to tighten around him. "Fuck, I love you. You're everything Betty, absolutely everything." He traced his hand between them and began circling his fingers around her clit. Her channel tightened around him, milking his cock for everything he had. "Holy shit, Betts, you're so tight. Cum for me." Jughead picked up his pace, hammering into Betty's wetness as fast as he could until he felt her body seize beneath him.

"Juggie!" As she screamed his name, it was too much for him and Jughead felt himself let go. He found every bit of himself, all the things he didn't know existed and all the feelings he'd never dared to recognize and he spilled it inside her.

He lay there for a moment, his still-hard dick pulsing into her cum-filled core before she spoke.

"Holy fuck, Jug; that was incredible. What's gotten into you today?" Her tone was playful and light as she flitted her fingers across his toned back.

"You." Jughead whispered so quietly that he was almost sure she wouldn't hear him. "I'm crazy about you Betty. I think... I think I always will be." He pulled himself out of her and looked her in the eyes. "You've gotten to me and I know that I'll never be the same. Nothing will ever be the same. You've gotten in my system and... and I've fallen so hard for you. Maybe I was already in love with you, but now I know. I will always love you. Only you." He couldn't bear to look at her after his confession. He wasn't even sure why he'd felt the need to let it out. But he did. And of all the places to make a huge embarrassing confession, it may as well be the place that may not exist.

Betty cupped his face, pulling him to her. "Juggie, I love you so much. I'm not going anywhere. You're my forever." She placed a kiss against his lips. Soft and tender at first, but turning more heated by the second. Jughead pulled her naked body against him, already feeling himself begin to harden at the contact.

A phone rang and Betty pulled away, reaching into her purse. "Oh shit, that's my Mum. She's stopping by to pick up the article. Quick! Get dressed!" She tossed his clothes at him and began pulling her own on.

Jughead did what he was told and just in time. The second he sat down, pulled his hat in place and tried to look comfortable, Alice Cooper swept in.

The exchange wasn't long before Alice had somewhere to be, letting Betty know that she had to be home by dinner. Alice regarded Jughead with a quick curt smile and he nodded back, unsure of what to do since this was _far_ from the woman he knew back home.

"Betty?" Jughead turned to her not long after Alice had left, "What happened between you and Archie?" He felt like he shouldn't ask, but at the same time, he had to know.

"What do you mean?" She cocked her head to the side, "Nothing's ever really happened between us. Or do you mean with the whole dance thing where he and Veronica ended up making out in a closet and then he told me he didn't love me back." Jughead winced at the words and the bitterness in Betty's voice.

"Uh, yeah, that."

Betty shrugged, "Well honestly, the part about that, that upset me the most was that Veronica would betray me like that. And I put myself out on the line, laid everything out in the open and got my heart broken. But when I think back to it, I wasn't really in love with Archie. I just..." She sighed, meeting Jughead's curious gaze, "I just wanted someone to love me. To show me that I could be loved. I thought that Archie and I were meant to be, because I'd had a crush on him since we were in kindergarten. It was a silly crush that I'd made into more because I wanted more. I didn't know what it would be like to actually be in love with someone until you kissed me and woke me up. I'd been dreaming this romance with a guy who didn't even like me like that, hell, he had eyes for just about any other girl in town over me, even one's he barely knew anything about." Jughead shook his head at that, some things never change.

Betty continued: "When I think back to it, I really just wish that someone would've come up to me sooner and said 'Betty, you deserve more than this. Archie isn't the only guy out there.' I feel like I would've really responded to that because in my heart... I knew it was true. I deserved to be with someone who would actually pick me first for something and want to be with me rather than wish they were with someone else. I wish you'd been able to say that to me, and better yet, if you'd still wanted me back then then you could've added something about you being there for me when I need you and loving me... you know, the way you do." Her tone was light and playful again as she leaned in for a kiss.

As the evening continued on, Jughead walked Betty home so she wouldn't be late. In this place, her Mum didn't seem like someone to be trifled with. He found that his mind was still reeling from everything that had happened today and yet he couldn't imagine wanting it to be any different. When they arrived at her place, she invited him in quickly to give him some footnotes on the next article they'd be writing. Betty gave him a quick kiss, since her Mum was watching, and snuck a note into his palm.

As she closed the door, Jughead turned around and noticed that everything was different... again. It was around six at night and he was standing on Betty's porch in a bubble-gum comic coloured world. Jughead felt like his heart had stopped. He wanted nothing more than to go back to where he had been. He looked down at the note still in his fingers and he turned it over.

Jughead, Climb through my window tonight, 11pm. I love you. See you then. -Betty

He smiled, slipping the note into his back pocket as the door behind him opened. It was real. Somewhere out there, Betty Cooper loved him.

"Jughead?" He spun around quickly to see Betty, the Betty he was used to, standing there. This wasn't his Betty and that thought broke his heart.

"Hey Betts." He whispered, remembering the way her lips had felt against his, the way her body fit against him.

"Are you okay?" She stepped onto the porch with him, looking out at the empty street. "Is there something you want?"

Jughead was about to shake his head 'No' when he realized something, "Actually yes, I'd like to talk to you if that's alright."

"Of course." She smiled, it was the same smile no matter which Betty it was. "What would you like to talk about?"

"Well... it's about you and Archie. Betty, you deserve more than this." Jughead looked up to see that he had Betty's full and rapt attention. "Archie isn't the only guy out there..."

xxxxx

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The references to scenes in the comics are all old comic-canon.

Links to some references:

post/159451615393/from-to-sleep-perchance-to-dream-bettys-diary

pin/841117667875824629/


	2. Chapter 2

_"What would you like to talk about?"_

 _"Well... it's about you and Archie. Betty, you deserve more than this." Jughead looked up to see that he had Betty's full and rapt attention. "Archie isn't the only guy out there."_

He took a deep breath before continuing; refusing to look directly at her now that he's started the speech. "You see, you deserve someone that will choose you _first_ , that really wants to be with you and no one else. Someone that hears about a dance and asks you first, without even thinking about another girl. Sometimes I think that Archie doesn't even see you; he's so busy looking at every new girl that walks by that he doesn't notice that the most amazing woman is right in from of him. I've never understood that; how Archie and Reggie can date around like that. And I know that people think that I'm a woman hater or that I'm not interested in dating because I don't chase every girl I see, but that's not it. I'm just not interested in pursuing someone if I'm not willing to spend my life with them. I know that I'm the kind of person who only falls once, so there was never any point in dating around."

Jughead took a sharp breath and continued: "What I'm trying to say is that... I will always be there for you, I will always choose you first. No, that's not right. I wouldn't choose you first, I'd only choose you. It would begin and end with you, Betty, like it damn well should. Archie is... he's out of his mind if he thinks anyone compares to you, in any way. This may seem out of the blue, but I had a really," he gave a huff of a laugh at that, "really confusing, and amazing, day; but it taught me something that I... I cannot thank it enough for, and it's that I'm absolutely crazy in love with you."

Jughead heard a sharp intake of breath from her direction that spurred him on before he lost his nerve, "And... and I'm sorry if this isn't what you wanted to hear, and I know it's not who you want to hear it from. And it's okay if it doesn't change anything but I need you to know this. That there's someone out there that loves you and will always be there to tell you how easy... how _fucking_ easy, it is to love you, Betts. I... I think I've probably been doing it for years." Jughead let out a shaky breath and dropped his head into his hands.

"Juggie..." Betty's voice was soft and hesitant, it had a rejection underneath it, he could tell. He wasn't going to take the chance, as he remembered the other Betty's words, ' _I didn't know what it would be like to actually be in love with someone until you kissed me and woke me up_.', he knew what he had to do.

"Don't say anything, Betty." Jughead turned to face her. Her eyes were wide and her yellow ponytail was tossed over her shoulder. He stepped up to her and gently cupped her face in his hands. He brushed his thumbs across her cheeks and smiled sadly, "I just needed to tell you. I just..." He closed the gap between them and pressed his lips to hers.

Betty froze under his kiss, but only for a moment before her lips pushed back chastely against his. She felt like she had before, in the other world, they were the same lips he'd been kissing only an hour ago. He tried not to get excited at the memory of exactly what he'd gotten up to earlier.

Jughead let his fingers slip into her hair, pulling her tighter against him as he pried her mouth open to his, like he'd experienced earlier. He gently brushed his tongue against hers tasting her. She tasted the same, she was the same. As he slanted his lips against hers, Betty let out a quiet moan and molded against him, arms wrapping around his shoulders. As the wind picked up, he kissed her with a renewed vigor. He felt her press her hips into his, rubbing against his growing erection. He pulled back slightly, hoping she didn't quite realize what she was doing to him.

The kisses became desperate and heated as they stood in the fading light on her porch. As much as Jughead wanted to stay here all night, kissing her and loving her, he knew that they had to stop. He had to give her time to think about things. The Betty from the other world, she already loved him, they'd already started some sort of relationship, but this Betty... this, he hoped, was her eye opener. She needed time and he needed to give it to her. In fact, Jughead was sure he'd already indulged in the kiss more than he should have.

He broke the kiss and pulled back from her, smiling at the flushed cheeks and tangled yellow hair that was pulled from her neat ponytail.

"I just needed to show you." He began to step back, taking her hand and placing a kiss on her knuckles. "I wanted you to know how things could be."

As he started to walk away he heard his name fall from her lips.

"Juggie?"

He turned back to look, only standing about eight feet from her. She was a vision. The wind was whipping her hair over her shoulder, and she had one hand holding it from her flushed face. He quirked an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. He'd already said too much tonight.

"I... I've never... I've never been kissed like that." Betty's eyes traveled to his lips at the memory.

"I know." Jughead knew his words were almost impossible to hear on the wind, but Betty seemed to hear them as if he'd whispered it in her ear.

"Have you ever kissed anyone before?" Her voice was curious and nervous at the same time. As he thought about it, he shook his head. Sure he'd been kissed before and maybe given a kiss against his will, but had he ever actually kissed someone before and meant it? No.

"Just you." It wasn't a lie.

Her breath was a sharp exhale that almost sounded like his name. Her face was redder than it had been before and it looked like there were tears threatening to spill from her eyes.

"It's only you, Betts." He shook his head to himself, "It took me a damn long time to realize it, but it's obvious to me now; it's only going to be you."

Her eyes fell to the ground in a contemplative manner and Jughead took a deep breath.

"Promise me something, Betty?" His voice was faint again, wavering across the wind. Her eyes snapped to him.

"What is it?" Her voice was soft and delicate.

"Promise me that no matter what you decide, you won't act like this didn't happen." He sighed and closed his eyes for a few pounding heartbeats. "I couldn't take that. Even if you don't choose me, even if you want things to go back to how they were; don't pretend I don't love you. I can handle just about anything else."

"I promise." She met his gaze for a moment before he turned away from her.


	3. Chapter 3

Jughead took his time walking home. He felt like he couldn't breathe. If it hadn't been for that note in the back pocket of his pants and the fact that he could still feel Betty all around him when he closed his eyes, he'd swear that none of it had been real.

He was afraid that he'd just destroyed everything with her, and of course Archie; although Archie somehow seemed less important right now. He shook his head. Of course Archie wouldn't understand why he was suddenly head over heels for Betty, and there was absolutely no easy way to explain it.

Jughead was still mentally beating himself up when he arrived at his front door. In the course of one day, he somehow ended up professing his love to Betty not once, but twice. He pulled his keys from his pocket and unlocked the door. He barely stopped himself from calling out, remembering that no one was home to hear it. His parents had taken Jellybean to some sort of outdoor hiking camp over the weekend. She'd been begging them for weeks, and after some convincing from him, they'd finally caved.

To be honest, Jughead was glad they weren't home. He needed to think about everything that had happened. What did any of it mean? He pulled the note out of his pocket and rolled it over in his fingers a few times; it was real. He closed his eyes and remembered every detail. Betty's face; her eyes closed, mouth open, head thrown back, as she slid down onto his throbbing cock; the way she'd looked beneath him as he thrust into her, watching himself disappear into her wet, delicate folds. Jughead sighed and opened his eyes. The memories made him ache all over. His jeans were tightening from all the blood rushing into his dick and every muscle ached to touch her again.

He decided to take a cold shower.

Jughead pulled his boxers on and his shirt over his head as he stepped out of his bedroom. Since he was the only one home, he figured that lazing around the house and eating everything in the fridge wasn't a bad way to spend the night. As he walked down the stairs, he heard a knock at the door. He didn't need to glance at the clock to know that it was at least nine at night and far too late for any random visit.

Jughead opened the door slightly to see a wind-blown, disheveled, Betty. She looked like she'd been running, her face was red, her hair was tangled and she was breathing heavily. She was fidgeting with her sleeve, staring at the ground where the door had been.

"Betty?" Jughead stepped into her full view and began extremely aware of the fact that he wasn't wearing his crown or pants over his boxers. His hair was messy and wet, curling down his face slightly. Betty's eyes snapped to him, and she stopped fidgeting.

Her eyes were wide as she took him in, her mouth opening and closing a couple times before she decided to speak.

"Did you mean it?" Her voice was faint as she stepped around him into the house.

"How can you ask me that?" Jughead followed her inside, closing the door behind them. When he turned back to her, she looked more vulnerable than he'd ever seen her. "Of course I meant it. I meant every word. Why would I put myself through the embarrassment of a confession like that if I didn't mean it?"

Betty nodded and looked up at him. "You said you know that you're only going to fall in love with someone once, and that when you do, it's because you want to spend the rest of your life with them."

Jughead gave a quick nod, despite the fact that he knew it wasn't a question.

"And you said you're in love with me." Betty waited for his confirming nod again before continuing: "Does that mean what I think it does? That you think I'm your one and only? Jug, how can you even...? How do you know? I mean, it seems really... out of nowhere Juggie..."

"It's not out of nowhere for me." He shook his head, frustrated at the amount of confessions and long speeches he's had to say on the matter. "I had an epiphany today, and it forced me to face facts and acknowledge my feelings. Feelings that have been there a very long time."

Betty stepped up to him, her hand reaching for his face. As she came within a foot of his body, he could feel the heat coming off of her. Before he could kiss her, or react in any way, her hand came down across his cheek, hard. The sound seemed to echo in his ears as the moment froze around him.

"Jesus Betty!" Jughead stepped back, hand shooting up to the red mark on his cheek. "What was that for?"

"For messing everything up!" Betty huffed, throwing her hands to her sides. "You can't love me! You don't even... like girls, let alone love them! And I... I love Archie. Your best friend! The one who you set me up with this morning!" Jughead winced, knowing her words were true. "And then you show up on my doorstep; after the date that _you_ set me up to go on, and profess your love for me?"

"How could you do this, Jug? How could you turn everything on its side? You come out of nowhere with all the words _every_ girl has dreamed of hearing; and you kiss me with more passion than I've ever, ever seen, felt or heard of. And then you leave me standing, alone, confused and... and..." She pushed her palms into her forehead and let out a harsh breath.

"And?" Jughead stepped close to her again, his breath shallow and cheek stinging.

"How could you?" She closed her eyes, stepping further back from him, towards the hallway.

Jughead stepped forward and pulled her hands down into his. "I told you. I needed to tell you how I felt... about everything."

"Including how you think Archie dates around too much?" Her voice was sarcastic and her eyebrow raised.

"Definitely." His face was serious. "If you were mine, even a little bit, I'd never look at any other girls."

"You never look at girls, Jughead." She rolled her eyes. "You're unaffected by them."

Jughead leaned in towards her, his face inches from hers. "I look at you." He didn't move, waiting to see what she'd do. Her face was tilted towards his, lips inches apart. He could feel her breath against his lips and watched her eyes trace his face.

Slowly and hesitantly, she closed the gap between them. As her lips met his, Jughead let out a quiet groan. He slowly and delicately snaked his arms around her waist, being careful, as if she'd spook easily. This time she was the one to open her lips to his, shoving her tongue into his mouth as she kissed him with bruising force. Jughead pulled her flush against him as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

He knew he was already getting hard, but this time he wasn't afraid of showing her. He knew that Betty would have a difficult time believing that he was unaffected by her after this. He felt her gasp into his mouth as her thigh slid in between his legs, brushing against his erection.

As she experimentally rubbed against his throbbing cock with her thigh, he turned their bodies, pressing her against the wall of the hallway. They adjusted so that he was in between her legs, his manhood pressing directly against her.

She wrapped a leg around him and pulled his hips against hers with an almost painful pressure.

"Betty." Jughead broke the kiss, gasping at the overwhelming need for her. "We should stop." Betty looked up at him from underneath her tangled yellow bangs.

"You're probably right, but I really don't want to." She smiled softly at him, grinding lightly against his hard-on, making it hard for him to concentrate on anything else.

"Trust me," Jughead sighed, letting his hips move against her, returning the pressure, "I don't either. Everything about you feels so damn good. But I don't want you to regret anything. I need to know that you want this, that you want me. And that will take a lot longer than a few hours."

Betty trailed her hands down his back, to the waistband of his boxers. "I'm sorry I slapped you." Her words were muffled as she placed her face against his neck, their bodies still entwined. Jughead leaned his head against hers, enjoying having her against him for as long as he could.

"It's fine. It wasn't the first time." He gave a quiet chuckle, remembering a few of the shenanigans that had resulted in a well deserved slap from the blonde in his arms.

Betty pulled back from him, looking into his eyes. "I'm so confused Juggie." She was still pressed to his body, his hard-on now painful as it pulsed against her.

He bent his head towards her. "I know. Trust me, Betty, I know." As he captured her lips one more time, his tongue brushing against hers, a bang came from the front door.

It took them a moment to pull apart. They were standing with Jughead's legs in between Betty's; her leg resting up on his thigh to provide more direct contact between their most intimate parts; her arms wrapped tightly around his shoulders, his arms around her waist, holding her by the small of her back; their lips open against each other, tongues entwined. ... And that was how he found them.

Archie banged the door open, looking at the papers in his hands. "Hey Jug, check out this..." His eyes made their way to the couple standing in the hallway, in the midst of pulling apart from each other. They weren't quick enough. "What the fuck!?"


	4. Chapter 4

"What the fuck?!" Archie's voice rang across the room. Jughead and Betty pulled apart as quickly as they could. Jughead's breath was ragged as he moved his hands to cover himself as best he could; the last thing he needed was for Archie to see exactly how much he was enjoying kissing Betty.

"Archie!" Betty's voice was shrill and shocked, as she stepped towards the door, looking back to Jughead for a moment. He caught her eye and gave her the briefest of smiles.

"Jughead! What do you think you're doing?" Archie's face was red as he started charging towards his friend. "Did you take advantage of her? Of Betty?" Jughead shook his head and began frantically backing up. His hands were still covering himself as Archie ran forward, prepared to tackle him.

Jughead had done his fair share of rough-housing and was fairly certain he could handle himself. If it came down to it, he knew he was at least capable of using his legs to knock Archie down and pin him, but it wasn't something he'd want to do anywhere other than gym class.

"Archie! Calm down! It's not like that!" He quickly ducked under Archie's swinging fist. "God damn it, listen!" Archie paid no attention to his friend's words; he could only see red as he dove for Jughead's legs. This time, Archie made contact, shoving him to the ground. Jughead gave a prompt kick to the red haired boy's arms and scrambled back to his feet.

"Oh my god, Archie, stop it!" Betty ran in between the boys as Archie came to his feet. "Please, everybody stop."

"Get out of the way, Betty." Archie's voice was cold as he looked past her.

"Betty, please, let me handle this. I don't want you to get hurt." Jughead whispered in her ear from a foot behind her. She turned to look at him, his eyes were full of concern. "I promise, I'll fix this, please." She gave a nod, stepping back, towards the door. The second she was out of the way Archie swung his fist at Jughead again, narrowly missing his face.

"Will you talk to me about this? I don't want to fight you, and you know I can if you make me." Jughead tried to be as calm as possible, not wanting to provoke Archie any more than he already had.

"If I make you? As if I'm forcing you to do anything! I came in here and you were... Goddamnit Jug!" Archie threw his hands up, his breath coming out in heavy pants.

As Archie dove for him again, Jughead decided to the only thing he could think of. He ran at Archie, shoulder checked him into the wall, then promptly pinned him by his arms. "Breathe, Archie!"

Archie tried to push against Jughead to no avail. Sure he didn't have too much upper body strength, but Jughead was strong. Betty had once theorized that all the food he ate turned directly into rock-hard muscle.

After a few moments, Archie's breath slowed down and he hung his head. "What were you doing, Jug?" Archie didn't move as Jughead let go of his arms.

"I was..." He awkwardly ran a hand through his damp hair. "You know what we were doing."

"Just say it." Archie looked up at him, the anger still evident in his eyes. "Go on, if you're able to do it, you should be able to say it."

"We were just kissing, Arch."

"Oh really?" Archie's voice was dripping with sarcasm, and he leaned against the wall with a huff. "Is that what you were doing? Because from my angle it looked a lot like foreplay. You're in your underwear for Christ's sake and the way her leg was..." He shook his head, "How could you Jug?"

"Everyone's been asking me that today." Jughead gave a smile to break the tension. It didn't work. He cleared his throat and prepared himself. "Archie, I'm in love with her."

Archie flew forward, getting Jughead by surprise, and shoved him into the wall. "You're what? You can't be, Jug! She's not your girl!"

"Isn't that up to me to decide?" Betty's voice cut through the air like a whistle, and all eyes shot to her. Her face was red and her puffy eyes were still leaking tears. She still looked beautiful to Jughead, who couldn't help but smile.

"Betty!" Archie stepped towards her, "You can't actually be suggesting that... that you and Jug..." He swallowed hard as the words died in his throat.

"I don't know yet, okay!" She yelled back, startling both the men. Jughead didn't think he'd ever heard her talk to Archie that way before. "But you can't just date whatever girls you want, kiss whoever you want, and then freak out when I'm kissing someone else. It doesn't work like that, Archie!" She took a deep breath and made eye contact with Jughead. "I want to be with someone who wants to be with me, and only me." Her eyes fell back to Archie, "I'm tired of waiting for your plans with Veronica to fall through in order to get a moment of your time."

"You want to go steady with me?" Archie spoke slowly, trying to get the point of her words. "And then you'll stop kissing Jughead?"

"No, Archie. You don't get it." Betty shook her head and walked to the door. "You don't get any of this." She opened the door and looked back at the boys, looking directly at Jughead she called: "I want to talk to you tomorrow. I'll be here at nine in the morning." Then she looked at Archie, "Stop fighting. It's not all about you, Archie. Not anymore." She pulled the door closed tight behind her, leaving a smiling Jughead and a shocked Archie in her wake.

xxxx

Standing inside the house, Jughead took an awkward step towards Archie. The papers he'd brought with him were scattered on the floor and he was staring at the closed door with a look of utter shock on his face.

"Archie, I'm really sorry." Jughead bent to pick up the papers.

"You're sorry? For kissing her?" Archie's voice was rough and strained.

"No. I'll never be sorry for that." He shook his head and smiled, "I meant what I said."

"That you're in love with her." Archie turned to face his friend who was now holding the papers out for him to take. "How can you even say that?" His eyebrows were scrunched together, a look of pure confusion on his face.

"Because it's true. I had an epiphany today. I've loved her for so long and I just realized that I either had to do something about it or... or it'd kill me."

"Why Betty?" Archie took the papers leaned against the counter by the door. "You could've gone for any of the girls in town, why did you have to go for Betty?"

"You don't get it, Arch. It's only Betty, for me. There are no other girls." At the blank look he was receiving, Jughead tried a different route. "Okay, you know how I never chase girls?"

"Yeah."

"And you've noticed how I almost never kiss or date anybody?" Once again, Archie nodded. "It's because I don't want to be in a relationship that doesn't mean anything to me. I don't want to kiss a girl that I don't care about. I was waiting, Archie. I was waiting for so long, and today, I realized that I was waiting for her."

"...for Betty?" Archie seemed to take a minute to think about it, "You really love her?"

"I do, more than I can say." Jughead sighed, it seemed like he was finally coming to terms with everything.

"Okay... then I guess I'll try to be happy for you." Archie didn't sound convinced by his own words, but Jughead smiled, he'd take what he could get.

"Don't be so quick there. It's not up to me. I played all my cards today, it's all on Betty. She may not pick me."

"Fuck, Jug." Archie's eyebrows hit his hairline and he couldn't help but smile at his oblivious friend, "If that kiss was anything to judge by, she's already made her decision. And I wasn't kidding earlier... it looked like foreplay."

Jughead tried not to let his hopes get up, but he smiled nonetheless, hoping that Archie was right. "Oh, you had something to show me?"

"Oh right." Archie lifted the papers he was holding, "I got our band a sweet gig for next week. I just wanted to make sure that everyone got the song list." He handed Jughead a flier, which he dutifully looked over despite it being the absolute last thing on his mind.

Betty wanted to see him tomorrow.

xxxxx

xxxxx

Reference to Jughead being very strong:

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End file.
